Strings
by saiyansecret
Summary: (One-shot. 5 years post-DBZ, 1 OC) Vegeta and Goten have been together for 4 years with their son, Tenjiita, having picked up the pieces as best they could after their last battle. One so young could not remember the horrific circumstances that brought him to existence; or could he? They could. (A/N: March 5, 2016 makes Vegeta/Goten my OTP of 4 years - have a good one, muses! xx3)
A hint of beginning Spring lingered in the yet crisp nightly air of early March, an occasional breeze dispersing the mist of Kasumi-Mori's waterfall. It was still too cold to leave the windows open, but the muted whirr of the cascade provided a pleasant, sleep-conducive white noise in the capsule house.

Goten listened to the near silence like music, thinking. "It's hard to believe it's been four years already," he reflected aloud, careful to keep his voice down. He was spooned behind Vegeta, playing with his hair that always fascinated him.

"Hmph," Vegeta mumbled in drowsy agreement, content to keep his eyes closed.

 _/You're not going to sleep yet?/_ Goten asked in telepathic reproach, as they'd been waiting until it was safe for a rare moment to indulge their hormones.

 _/You're doing the hair thing,/_ Vegeta replied likewise, but smirked at what was poking him in the back. He was in fact blissed out by the tingles sparkling throughout his scalp, brought by Goten's magic touch. His unsated state would otherwise make sleep difficult, but not impossible.

To be sure, Goten slid his hand down to trace Vegeta's own rigid bulge. _/Guess I'll just have to do the hard work./_ He smirked at his unapologetic pun, but quickly went back to his hair.

After a few more minutes of peaceful silence, Vegeta turned and grasped Goten by the arms, who gladly fell into his embrace. Halfway into a first eager kiss, they were startled by a frantic knock on their door. Both of them slumped in frustration, as it had been almost every night lately.

"Come in," Vegeta called, making a conscious effort not to sound too harsh.

Tenjiita quickly opened the door, and scrambled onto their bed to safety with his stuffed bear. His eyes bore a closer ressemblance to Vegeta's, but were now wide and fearful.

"What's the matter, Tenji-bug?" Goten picked up their small son. "Bad dream?"

Tenjiita nodded, wiping away the drying tears on his cheeks. "The black monster again." His parents exchanged a furtive, sharp glance. That was happening too often for what he could not possibly remember. "Is it real, 'Tou-san?" he asked Vegeta.

That wasn't a dumb question, wasn't being the operative word, but Vegeta replied, "Of course not. We're real, and this room, and that table, and that lamp, and the cat… all that's here now is real."

"I know, but I keep seeing it," he explained, appealing, "Can I sleep here?"

Vegeta scowled his disapproval, yet not for lack of understanding, and Tenjiita was not even four yet.

"Alright." Goten patted the middle of the bed, arranging the pillows.

Relieved, the three-quarter-blooded Saiyan curled up between them. He clutched Vegeta's arm with his plush panda while Goten's hand turned its attention to his hair, which made him begin drifting back to sleep almost immediately. His hair looked like Goten's had since his teens, with an amusing, smaller flame-tuft on top.

 _/At least someone gets the hair thing,/_ Vegeta mumbled dryly.

*  
"Hold still, wiggle-worm." Goten managed to finish adjusting Tenjiita's gray training gi, worn for both his home practice and ninjutsu with his godparents, before he literally disappeared without a trace.

"Are you ready yet, Tenjiita?" Vegeta called into the living room, entering too late.

"You gotta find him first." Goten stood aside to watch, grinning.

"Why does it always have to be me?" Vegeta folded his arms impatiently.

"You challenged him."

"Six months ago," Vegeta declared, "I didn't mean every day." He did not truly mind the game, as Tenjiita shared his enthusiasm for long workouts, and his progress was astonishing for his age. He was not far from turning Super Saiyan, yet that step would depend on himself.

Both looked up at a familiar knock at the front door, which Goten opened in confusion to ChiChi and Trunks. "Hey. I thought you were coming tomorrow."

"Didn't you get my message yesterday?" ChiChi asked as he closed the door behind them, and a chilly breeze that followed them in.

"I didn't check," Goten recalled. They'd spent most of the day outside, as it had been unusually warm.

"Grandma!" Tenjiita dropped down from the ceiling rafters and pounced into her arms.

ChiChi nearly jumped out of her skin. "You tryna give me a heart attack?" she demanded to the others' amusement, but scooped him up. "We're kidnapping my grandbaby."

Tenjiita's cheeks reddened. "I'm big now," he objected, but giggled at Trunks' piggyback invitation, and jumped on.

"Not so fast, lil' bro," Trunks commented cheerfully.

"We expected you tomorrow," Vegeta told them, "He hasn't trained yet." Goten elbowed him sharply.

"One day won't matter." ChiChi looked at them critically. "You don't look like you've slept much."

"He's had nightmares all week," Goten replied, to Tenjiita's look of reproach.

"Well, everybody wants to see him, so he'll have company," ChiChi assured them, "Oh, and don't forget to take him for a checkup next week."

"Why?" Goten asked.

"Dr. Tanaka only has one medical colleague who knows the truth," she reminded him, "Just to make sure everything's okay."

Vegeta and Goten frowned, disliking being reminded of their son having been cloned. Kaito Tanaka was a renowned genetics expert, who'd been forced by the enemy to clone a Super Saiyan who would work for him. He and his family were also from one of the two most powerful ninja clans, and after the most devastating battle they'd known since Buu, had become part of his adoptive family. The said battle had been won, but at great cost and sacrifice.

"You're home early today," Vegeta commented to Trunks.

"I just had an exam this morning," Trunks replied.

"You want a coffee, tea, or whatever?" Goten offered.

"We can't stay long," ChiChi replied, "It's a long way." After an awkward silence, she asked, "I guess you haven't had time to pack?"

"Yeah, we did." Goten left to retrieve the weekend bag from Tenjiita's room, stopping in theirs to include his stuffed panda bear.

ChiChi studied the two of them when he returned. "Everyone adores him, you know Gohan does. We'll bring him home Sunday after dinner." Goten nodded and handed her the bag, while Vegeta put Tenjiita's coat on him. She turned to specify, "You both look like crap. Get some sleep."

"Thanks, I think," Goten replied. Tenjiita turned back to hug them, and they watched them leave with a wave.

-:-

The ride back to West City that was routine for the others seemed longer to Tenjiita, who played his game console to pass the time. "I can fly faster than this thing, Trunks," he informed his brother, flipping his tail back and forth.

"I know, buddy," Trunks replied, "But not everyone can fly without one."

"I see where you get your 'patience' from." ChiChi reached over to refasten his seat belt, which he disliked. "He should stay with you first," she said to Trunks, "You might want to actually rest on Sunday. Don't you have more exams?"

"A couple more," Trunks replied, "But let Dad think there's still tons."

ChiChi nodded, smiling. "They seem to think we forgot. I gotta say, I didn't think they'd last a year, let alone four. I wouldn't say so to just anybody, but I don't think Goten would've survived if not for Vegeta. And I don't mean in combat."

Trunks' face sobered. "I know now. The whole mess would've been the last straw for Dad." He fell silent, and put on some music to change their thoughts.

ChiChi looked out the window. "I guess Goku went back to Uub's corner for the same reasons."

Trunks' phone beeped to signal a new message, which he listened to on his earpiece.

From the other end, 17's voice announced, "Hey, Trunks. Can you bring your little bro somewhere else? No offense, but I hate that place more than ever." The demi only smiled, no offense taken.

When they finally arrived at Capsule Corp, the smallest Saiyan had dozed off. He awoke immediately and ran ahead of his companions, where Bra and Pan waited in the yard.

Being a direct reflection of Goten, and of a different facet of Vegeta, it was no mystery why he'd immediately been familiar to the Z-gang.

Gohan stepped out as he always did, to be the first to pick him up. "It's my divine right," he told the two girls, not minding that his nephew's hugs were more like tackles. He walked in with the rest of them, beaming.

"There's my baby!" Bulma scooped him up to ruffle his hair.

"That's not what you said when he really was one," ChiChi dryly reminded her.

"Because every day those two ran after us yelling, 'woman!' and 'mom!'" the former retorted, "I'm now certain those words were distress signals in their native language."

Videl took advantage of the resulting humor for her turn. "They're universal ones," she confirmed.

"Well. Now they make more fuss over a family weekend than I did when Gohan left for Namek," ChiChi seemed to remember, making those who did remember the time blink.

"Sure, Mom," Gohan replied with an amused wink at Tenjiita. The latter had not heard about that, but giggled, suspecting that he understood.

-:-

 _Maybe it wasn't about survival. Maybe it was more about trying to cope with struggling to keep a semblance of a normal life_ _after one has survived, and of course the scars,_ _which no magic bean would heal._ _And the dirty little secret that no one needed to hear anyway,_ _that the Dragon Balls that saved and returned your life were just a curse._ _Who deserved to hear that, after they'd risked their own lives, fighting by your side to help you?_

 _You needed a reason to go on._ _Not the little things that somehow kept you bound to life,_ _like stubborn little strings which were stronger than they looked._ _(If it were not just you who were weak.)_ _Would you tell anyone, or anything, that they looked like a little string to you,_ _and you secretly prayed they would let you go?_ _Of course not._ _It wasn't that you didn't love them, you're just more detached than you were before._ _Maybe... just maybe... they were more than little strings?_

Goten stared out the window for several minutes after they'd left, turning around when he felt Vegeta's presence. He, too, looked out at nothing in particular.

Goten leaned against the wall, trying to force a smile that somehow didn't make it. "We waited so long for this weekend." Unable to meet Vegeta's piercing regard, he looked at the floor. "I…" He placed his hands on his arms, but drew a blank. Why did his mother have to say that?

Vegeta gripped his arms soberly. "Don't think about it."

"It's hard." He wasn't as good at keeping his composure, but that was of no use at this point.

"I know." The full-blooded Saiyan's voice was barely audible, but he clasped Goten tightly.

Goten held him as he hadn't in too long. Vegeta did not like to talk about it, and it was no easier for him. "Are you sure our telepathy doesn't affect him, too?"

Vegeta frowned. "It shouldn't. Have you noticed anything else?"

"I tried a few times to see if he picked it up, but he never reacted. I meant in some offhand way," Goten explained.

"That's possible, I guess," Vegeta replied, "Is that what it's really about?"

"I don't know." Goten's own voice seemed to echo from faraway.

Vegeta tilted up his face. "I think your mother's right. We're tired. What say we take a nap?"

Goten nodded, realizing that was the best idea he'd heard all day. "What?" he asked at Vegeta's amused expression.

He ran his fingers through Goten's hair. "No wonder the little brat always gets his way. He looks just like you."

Goten smiled, tiredly but for real. "I think that everyday. Definitely your eyes."

"And your _look,"_ Vegeta added dryly.

"I never got what you meant by that." Goten was already lost in Vegeta's own kind of look.

The latter's smirk turned predatory. "On you, I let you have what you want so I can fuck you silly."

"There's _my_ favorite 'look'. And you haven't done that lately." Goten turned him around and slammed him against the wall, his way of issuing the challenge. Before he could react, Goten trapped him in a kiss, the toe-curling sort that started sweet and cute, then suddenly turned hot and demanding.

Gods, he'd missed that. Vegeta stayed put for the time being, flooded with familiar heat while Goten's caressing hands randomly clutched and squeezed everywhere they passed, his own doing the same. Both of them were hot and hard, their breathing already short when Goten was pressed fully against him.

Feeling Goten weaken while his eyes looked as though he were drunk, Vegeta shoved him against the wall at his turn. His mouth moved to Goten's throat, sucking hard and biting at his warm skin, and grinding hard as though he were already screwing him into the wall. One of the demi Saiyan's legs curled around him in their passionate struggle, as worked up as he was, only a soft gasp escaping him.

Vegeta forcefully pulled him the short distance to their room, not that Goten resisted. He didn't mind screwing on the floor, but he didn't care to stay there when they inevitably collapsed to sleep. He pushed him onto the bed, both suddenly less sleepy than they thought.

When his mouth was free long enough to speak, Goten's slightly slurred voice asked from underneath him, "Am I doing the hard work, then?"

Vegeta looked down at his limp, pinned wrists. "I don't think so." He literally ripped his gi off him in pieces, not caring that his shirt and sweats met the same fate.

Both were too hot and ready to burst for preliminaries, so Vegeta reached into the nightstand for the lube. Not finding it right away, he yanked it out of its hinges and it crashed to the floor. Since he'd found the tube, they paid it no attention.

Goten was a bit tighter, so he had to slow down a little. Vegeta's scissoring fingers hitting his magic place with every move had Goten trembling, his teeth clenched and his fingers clawing into his tawny skin.

"Vegeta, please!" The demi Saiyan was near climax by that alone.

He didn't need to be asked twice, only pushing into him slowly enough to avoid any damage. Already trembling with need himself, he shoved inside hard enough to make him yelp. Some initial pain quickly blurred to raw pleasure, especially when their tails wound together, both relieved to not need to be quiet.

Goten only sobbed ecstatically as he was turned in every position, finally facedown and balling the sheets in his fists as he was being savagely nailed into the bed. Could he have possibly forgotten how good that felt?

Locking onto his thoughts, Vegeta pinnned his wrists firmly down, thrusting into him hard enough to make the bed springs and headboard threaten to give out. His tail coiled around Goten's leaking cock, its soft fur lightly tickling while it pumped him in time to his thrusts. Overwhelmed by dazzling sensations that rose to a fever pitch, both unconsciously turned Super Saiyan with their well-deserved climax before they went limp, left dizzy and seeing stars.

Neither moved for several minutes afterward, content to bask in the high of their afterglow. Their eyes opened slowly, and Vegeta reached for Goten, who settled blissfully in his embrace. A long, softer kiss spoke volumes, and their act had been nothing fancy, but it brought them something that looked new today. Yet, it was not new.

It was time to have a talk with Tenjiita, they decided mutually. If nights did not work well for the moment, they would find a solution.

It was not only physical release they needed - okay, it certainly helped - it was more about what they could see now. There would be no curtain-closing happy ending, nor tragedy. There would be good days, bad days, and all in between. The day marked four years for them, but it was for forever. Actually, there were no strings attached to their lives at all… they had something better.

 _They had a reason._  
~*~

The End (of day)

(Happy 4th Anniversary, VegeTen & baby - ❤ you 3 ~)


End file.
